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Questions & Answers about Wielkanoc jest wiosną.
Why is wiosną in the instrumental case here instead of using a preposition like w to mean 'in'?
In Polish, seasons of the year and certain parts of the day take the instrumental case entirely on their own to express 'in' or 'during' that time. Therefore, wiosną means 'in spring', just as zimą means 'in winter' and nocą means 'at night'. You do not use the preposition w for seasons.
Wielkanoc ends in a consonant. Why is it a feminine noun?
It is a compound word formed from Wielka (Great) and noc (night). Because the root word noc is one of the exceptional feminine nouns that end in a consonant, Wielkanoc is also feminine and follows the exact same declension patterns.
When declining Wielkanoc in other sentences, do I change both halves of this compound word?
In everyday modern Polish, you only decline the second half of the word (noc). For example, the genitive case is Wielkanocy. You might occasionally encounter the older form where both parts decline, like Wielkiejnocy, but it is outdated and unnecessary for daily use.
I noticed Wielkanoc is capitalized but wiosną is not. What are the capitalization rules here?
Names of holidays like Wielkanoc (Easter) or Boże Narodzenie (Christmas) are proper nouns in Polish and must be capitalized. However, seasons, months, and days of the week are always written in lowercase unless they start a sentence.